The Amphibiques in Boggan's Armor
by DarkraixCresselia
Summary: Tired of being an outcast, as well as mistaken for a Boggan, Tabitha decides to do the only thing she feels is right: join the Boggans. Under the partial-tutelage of the Boggan leader, Mandrake, Tabitha becomes a strong, feared warrior. But with enemies both in the Leafmen and Boggans, Tabitha will eventually have to decide where she belongs: her old childhood home, or Wrathwood.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is a new fanfic for a new franchise: Epic, the movie. Not too wild about the title, but the movie was pretty good. I came up with an OC, developed her, and the plot of this story, and started writing. Since I'm still writing my Osmosis Jones story, this story may not be updated as quick, and vice versa.**

**I do not own the movie, Epic; it is owned by Blue Sky Studios. I DO own my OC, Tabitha, and her species, as well as a couple of other characters that will pop up.**

* * *

All was peaceful in the forest. The breeze softly blew through the trees, making the branches and leaves dance. The birds were singing, and every now and then, near the pond, a frog would croak. Other than the before mentioned, all was silent.

However, down at the ground, it wasn't so peaceful. You see, two-inch tall creatures called Jinn lived in secrecy in the forest, protecting nature. Some of the Jinn were known as Leafmen. They were human-like soldiers, protecting the forest against the Boggans, monster and bug-like creatures who spread rot everywhere they went.

Down on the ground, on foot, two Leafmen were chasing another creature. This creature was female, with light blue-green skin, and darker-colored markings on her face, hands and feet. She wore a somewhat baggy, chipmunk-skin coat that had large sleeves and pant legs that stopped at her elbows and midway past her calves.

She clenched her hands into fists, not stopping for a minute as she ran from the Leafmen. Her bare, three-toed, slightly-webbed feet pounded against the ground, and she glanced back every now and then, her dark brown eyes filled with only a little bit of fear; she was more angry than afraid. She was angry because she had been mistaken for a Boggan by these Leafmen, and to them, every Boggan was evil and must die. "I told you guys, I am _not_ a Boggan!" She yelled. Her voice was surprisingly feminine for her tomboyish exterior, but had an edge that told other people that she wasn't to be messed with, especially when angered.

The Leafmen didn't listen, and still ran after her, both panting from the long chase. The female was starting to tire as well. In this situation, it was either run until she dropped and was captured or killed, or fight back and risk getting hurt or killed. Either way, she wasn't going to take this lying down.

She skidded to a stop, causing her stringy black hair, which was tied in a high ponytail, to whip around at her face. She ignored this as she glared at the Leafmen running at her. She hadn't been trained in self-defense, but she knew how to kick, punch, knee, and bite, so she figured that was enough for now.

She punched one Leafman across the jaw, and kicked the other in the stomach. They jumped right up, fists ready for a fight. She ducked when one punched at her head, but couldn't avoid getting a fist in her stomach. "Haven't your moms taught you manners?" She gasped, standing up straight and kicking the Leafman who punched her in the head. "You shouldn't hit a lady!"

"You're hardly a lady, Boggan!" The other Leafman snapped, kicking her in the thigh.

This jibe made her even angrier. "I. Am. Not. A Boggan!" She began punching and kicking for all she was worth. She even bit them with sharp teeth when they got close enough to her face. Finally, battered and bruised, the Leafmen fell back, and ran back the way they came.

Even though she won, this didn't mean she got away unscathed. She had gotten kicked and punched as well. Bruises were beginning to form, even under her coat, her small, round nose was bleeding, and her hands and feet hurt.

_That's me, the one who got beat up. What's my name? I'm Tabitha. And don't let those mud-for-brains fool you; I am definitely not a Boggan. I'm actually an Amphibiques. An Amphibiques is a creature that lives near the water, and cares for the water and its plants and animals. As you can imagine, they spend most of their lives swimming. Well, not me. I'm the lucky one who dislikes water. So, as you can imagine, I never really got along with my tribe. So I just up and left to find my own place in the forest. Sounds cheesy enough, but it felt like the right thing to do._

As she sat, hidden under a small log, Tabitha thought back to that attack. No matter how she tried to convince them, those Leafmen were convinced she was a Boggan.

She knew about Boggans, how they spread rot everywhere they went, and were bent on destroying the forest. Well, at least their leader, Mandrake, was. She had never seen him in person, but she heard of how fearful he was.

She sighed, rubbing her sore arm. "Well, unless I go back, I'm gonna be stuck with being mistaken for a Boggan my whole life." Suddenly, an idea came to mind. "Unless…unless I was already _part_ of the Boggans."

The idea seemed good. After all, it wouldn't be any different than her situation now. The only differences would be she would be trained in self-defense and fighting, she'd have a place to sleep, and maybe a bit of respect. Yes, when she was healed up enough, Tabitha, the odd Amphibiques, would join the Boggans.

* * *

**A/N Short chapter is short. But my stories often have a reputation for having short starter chapters. Plus, it's kinda hard breaking in a new story for a new franchise.**

**So, this is Tabitha, the main character of this story. Her species is one I made up. They're the kind of people who are set in their olden ways; one being that each and every Amphibiques (I can't remember how I came up with that name) must learn to swim. Plus, most, if not all, like the water. Well, not Tabby :3 I was gonna have her afraid of water, but I already had that for my Rise of the Guardians character, Haley, and I didn't really want them both to have the same fear of water (plus, I think of Tabitha, Haley, and my Osmosis Jones OC, Annabelle, as a kind of group; somewhat like the Big Four circling around the 'net) So, Tabitha just merely dislikes swimming, though she DOES know how to swim.**

**Okay,the Leafmen, who were the good guys in the movie (I feel silly saying "Epic" or "the Epic movie") are the bad guys in this fanfic. This story is in the POV of Tabitha, who upon joining the Boggans, becomes a Boggan by default. Thus, the Leafmen are the bad guys, though not the main antagonist(s). The reason why the two Leafmen thought Tabby was a Boggan...well, I guess they were newly-made warriors/rookies on patrol, and they haven't seen an Amphibiques. Plus, Tabitha might kinda look like a Boggan.**

**Speaking of which, is it me, or do some of the Boggans look like the sharks from Shark Tale? In a side-by-side comparison, the resemblance is there. And the movies not even made by the same company!**

**So, anyway, this is my first Epic fanfic (see? Couldn't they come up with a better title?) Plus, I'm still trying to get details from the movie right; Wrathwood, for example, since that'll be the main setting. So, forgive me if I flub some details. It'd be nice if some book company made a big book about Epic, kinda like Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc.; it'd be "epic" even...yeesh, bad pun ^^;**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N ****I do not own the movie, Epic; it is owned by Blue Sky Studios. I DO own my OC, Tabitha, and her species, as well as a couple of other characters that will pop up.**

* * *

It was several days later before Tabitha was able to walk without limping, and her bruises faded away. Because she had no idea where Wrathwood, the home and lair of the Boggans, was, she had to wander the forest until she came upon an area where hardly any flora and fauna grew. It was dank and rotting, and smelled faintly of rot. Yes, this must be Boggan territory.

A twig snapped. Before she could move, Tabitha was surrounded by several creatures. Some were bugs, but others were frog-like. They were all wearing some type of armor made of leafs, and dead bug bodies, and they had helmets made from small skulls, and bark. They were Boggans.

Without a word, two big Boggans grabbed her by her arms, and tied her hands behind her back with a thin vine. Another gagged her with what felt like a piece of pelt. "What should we do with her?" One Boggan asked.

"Duh! Take 'er to Mandrake, of course!" Another Boggan snapped. "'e'll know what to do with 'er."

With that, Tabitha was dragged along through the stinky, dank territory. She couldn't breathe through her mouth, or plug her nose, so she got full blast of the smell, making her eyes water. That wasn't to say she wasn't used to bad odors, as at her old home, by the pond, it often smelled of dank and fish. But this was worse.

Finally, they came upon a huge tree stump. Its roots, and the ground around it, were covered in hardened rot. Tabitha's eyes widened. This must be Wrathwood. She grunted as she was pushed up the trunk of the tree into a large opening.

Inside, it was dark, and there were cobwebs all over the place. The only flooring were rings around the inside walls of the tree, spiraling up and down, and several bridges. It was a dark, morbid place that smelled of rot and death. She shuddered inwardly.

Tabitha was pushed towards the entrance to a large room. There were two guards guarding the entrance. One was a mosquito with a humming bird skull for a helmet. The other was a large, frog-like Boggan with bark armor on his upper back and wrists, and a bark helmet. Those two Boggans grabbed Tabitha by the arms, and pulled her into the room as the Boggans who brought her left after exchanging the information about finding her in the outskirts.

Inside, there was a big throne in the back. It looked like it was made of bones, and there was a large animal spine, with several ribs still attached, that laid in front of the throne, the ribs looking like soldiers standing up straight. A dark, cloaked figure was seated in the cloak. "Lord Mandrake," The larger Boggan said, bowing briefly. "Some scouts found this trespasser in the outer skirts of the territory. What should we do with her?"

The head of the figure in the throne lifted. Mandrake had blue-gray, scaly skin, a square jaw, a hooked, red-tipped nose, and dark freckles around his yellow and red eyes. He wore a shirt and loincloth that fell to his knees, both made of what looked like dead leaves. He also wore a huge bat cloak, with the face of the dead creature on his head like a hood, the teeth framing his face, and the ears still standing straight up. At his side was a long staff with a hardened ball of rot at the end.

He stood to his feet. Even without the tall bat ears on his cloak, Mandrake was tall, with the top of Tabitha's ponytail barely grazing the tip of his nose. But half of his height was from his long legs. He stared down at Tabitha for a minute before saying to the other two Boggans, "Remove her gag, and unbound her. She can't tell us why she was in our territory if she can't speak. And I'm sure she won't try anything funny, right?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She nodded as the Boggans untied her hands, and took the pelt out of her mouth. She rubbed her wrists and spat the dirt and fur from her mouth as Mandrake asked for the Boggans to tell someone called Dagda to come in, and to get back to their posts. "I'm addressing Mandrake, leader of the Boggans, I presume?" Tabitha asked as the Boggans left.

"You presume correctly, Miss,"

"Tabitha. My name is Tabitha. I'm an Amphibiques."

"Ah, yes. They care for the forest's water, and its plants and creatures. I have no trouble against them. Why aren't you at your home?"

"I'm one of the few nonexistent Amphibiqui who dislikes water. So, as such, I don't go swimming often, and I'm the outcast of my tribe. So, I decided to leave. The only problem with that is Leafmen constantly mistake me for a Boggan. Several days ago, in fact, I got in a fight with them. It was then I decided to join the Boggans. If the Leafmen think me to be one, who am I to deny them that thought? I don't belong anywhere else anyway."

Mandrake had been circling Tabitha as she talked, listening to her story as he looked her over. "So, because you are an outcast in your Amphibiques tribe, you've left them," He drawled, slowly pacing back and forth in front of her. "And because the Leafmen continuously mistake you for a Boggan, and you feel yo won't belong anywhere else, you decide to join us?"

"That's basically it, sir." She nodded, swallowing nervously. It had just clicked in her mind that she was alone in the same room with the feared Boggan leader. And all of the frightening rumors of him began to surface, making her wonder if this was really the right, and sane, decision.

Another Boggan came into the throne room. This was a short, squat Boggan, with a round head, narrow red and yellow eyes, and a wide, thin, purple mouth. He wore a rat skull as a helmet, and clothing made of dead leaves. "You needed to see me, Dad?" He asked Mandrake.

Mandrake looked at the Boggan with a hint of pride and affection. Tabitha felt a slight pang of envy, wishing her parents would look at her with that same pride and affection. They hardly looked at her anymore; they were usually arguing about something. But she pushed those thoughts aside, not wanting to dwell on her hard past at the moment.

"Yes, I did, Dagda," Mandrake said. "Some scouts found this young Amphibiques wandering around the territory."

"My name's Tabitha." She said, crossing her arms. "And I'm not a child. I'm at least older than your son."

Ignoring her interruption, the Boggan leader continued, "She wishes to join us, as she left her tribe, and is constantly mistaken for a Boggan by the Leafmen."

Dagda glanced at Tabitha, who raised an eyebrow, almost in challenge. "So…are you gonna let her join? The Boggans have never taken in non-Boggans, have they?"

"No, son, they haven't. But there can't be any harm in seeing if she is worthy."

Tabitha blinked in confusion. "See if I'm worthy? How?"

"Simple; we'll see how you fare in a fight. Scared?" He smiled crookedly, raising an eyebrow. This gave the Boggan leader a sinister expression.

Tabitha's eyes hardened at the jibe. She never refused a challenge, and never let anyone accuse her of being scared. She had grown up with the habit of pushing herself to do a physical task, and of accepting any challenge, even if she was tired or hurt. She knew they weren't good habits, but she never made an attempt to break them. They seemed to be the only ways she would get noticed for something good back at her home by the pond. "I'll do it. But I gotta warn you, I'm not an experienced fighter. I never got any training."

"We'll set you against one of our trainees. They are only training to be warriors." With a jerk of his head, indicating Tabitha and Dagda should follow, Mandrake walked out of the throne room, down some stairs to the lowest ring tree, and into another room.

This room was obviously a training room. It had targets on one wall for arrow-shooting, training dummies made of sticks and leaves for physical combat practice, and a separate area, where some Boggan trainees were practicing physical combat against each other. Others were either shooting arrows, fighting the dummies, or just simply sitting and talking.

Tabitha's eyes wandered around the training room. Her limbs itched to try out one of the activities. But she stood where she was, figuring that if she impressed Mandrake enough to join the Boggans, she would be one of the trainees practicing in this room.

* * *

**A/N I'm still trying to get into the vibe of the Epic universe. It's still fairly new to me, so there may be some mistakes in geography and such.**

**Anyone remember those two guards? The great big one with his mosquito buddy? They were quite the pair indeed. I haven't named them yet, and they probably won't be in the story much, save for events in the movie.**

**And we meet the King of Rot himself: Mandrake. He has quite an interesting design; especially the bat cloak. LOVE the bat cloak :3 I also notice, upon seeing the movie again, that he has pretty long legs. Whenever I see a movie more than once I always notice little details I missed when watching it for the first time. Plus, I have Sony Vegas, so if I need to look at any details, SV is a great tool to use.**

**I noticed that Dagda mentioned just getting his rat cloak early in the film. Ergo, he didn't have it prior to the events of Epic. So, now, he is without his rat cloak. I was gonna do the same with Mandrake's staff, but threw that idea away.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N ****I do not own the movie, Epic; it is owned by Blue Sky Studios. I DO own my OC, Tabitha, and her species, as well as a couple of other characters that will pop up.**

**Alu In Chains: Ch. 1: I had that in mind. That's why I wrote it. I figure it'd be a good way to introduce Tabitha. She's also a bit more serious than others.**

**Ch. 2: Very true. It's both a good and bad thing, since they kinda roughed her up.**

**She's the kind of girl who can't sit still, and has to be doing something. That something is usually training or roughhousing. I guess I should have said, but in the beginning, Dagda was already general, though kinda recent. Since I believe Dagda would have taken over the Boggans after Mandrake, Mandrake would have wanted to teach him everything, including when to accept someone into the Boggans.**

* * *

Mandrake smiled as Tabitha gazed around the training room, wide-eyed in awe. "Impressive, isn't it?" He asked rhetorically.

She only nodded silently in response. He recognized that look; Dagda had the same expression when the young general's training had begun a few years ago. She was eager to try out some of the equipment. But the only way she would be able to do that was if she impressed him enough, in battle, to allow her to join the Boggans. He wasn't going to allow her in, and find out she was too weak. He turned to the small crowd of Boggans that had formed, full of curious trainees. "Toxicad! Come here!"

A big Boggan trainee, resembling something of a cross between a shark and a bull, stepped forward. Like the others, he was wearing leaf armor. "You wanted me, Lord Mandrake?" He asked in a deep, gruff voice, bowing his head.

"Yes. We have an Amphibiques here who wishes to join us." He gestured at Tabitha, who shook herself from her stupor to pay attention. Her eyes widened a fraction at the sight of the large Boggan, who was almost as tall as Mandrake himself, but she didn't let any more fear show. "I told her we would consider the proposal by testing her abilities against a Boggan trainee. And that trainee is you."

Toxicad leered at Tabitha. "Oh, how lucky. I get to experience Boggan vs. Enemy battle today."

"Didn't you hear a word he said?" Tabitha scowled, placing her fists on her hips. "If I impress Mandrake, I get to join the Boggans."

"That's right, _if_ you impress him. To do that, you have to defeat me. But you're a mere female, and _I_ am an experienced Boggan trainee. What are the chances you'll be able to beat me?"

"I don't need to beat you, I just need to prove myself worthy." Tabitha sniffed, cracking her knuckles. "Shall we?"

"'Shall we?' She says." Toxicad mocked as they approached the arena. The trainees stopped to watch with baited breath. "Give it your best shot, Amphy."

"Sorry, my name isn't 'Amphy,'" Tabitha frowned, standing in the corner of the arena. "It's Tabitha." With a yell, she charged, hands balled into fists. Toxicad easily dodged, and kicked her in the leg. She fell to the ground with a groan of pain, but stood up, spun around, and slugged the Boggan across the face, catching him by surprise. Then, she kicked him upside the chin, and in the chest. When he fell onto his back, she put her foot on his chest, not pressing down.

That proved to be a mistake. Toxicad rolled over, making Tabitha fall. Then, he stood, grabbed her ankle and swung her around, letting her go, and making her crash into the wall with a yelp. The Boggans all flinched. "That's gotta hurt." Dagda muttered. Mandrake remained still, eyes on the Amphibiques.

Tabitha stood up shakily, groaning slightly in pain. Everyone's eyes were on her as she stood in place, panting. Finally, her head rose slightly. Her narrowed dark-brown eyes were on Toxicad. "You think you can throw me around just because I'm a female?" She snarled. She charged again, hands balled into fists. Toxicad dodged again. But this time, Tabitha skidded to a stop, turned on a dime, and punched the Boggan right in the nose. She didn't stop there. She kicked him in the leg, punched him in the shoulder, and kneed him on the stomach. When he bent down, groaning, she head butted him in the forehead, causing a grunt of pain to come from both of them.

When he stumbled back, she pushed him onto the ground, and put her foot on his throat, her pointed toes digging into the side of his neck. This time, she pressed down, making him gasp at the lack of air. "Stop." Mandrake said loudly, holding up a hand.

Tabitha removed her foot from Toxicad's neck, and stepped away from him. Toxicad stood up, rubbing his throat with a pained grimace.

Mandrake walked up to Tabitha, with Dagda close behind. He raised an eyebrow at her with a slightly-amused smirk. "Are you sure you weren't trained back home?"

She shrugged sheepishly. "I guess I may have observed my brothers' trainings at times. But I never participated."

"Well, observing _is_ part of learning, isn't it?" Dagda asked.

"Yes." Mandrake agreed. "And it helped you today." He continued to stare down at her until he said, "For one who's never been officially trained, you were quite the fighter. With more training, you may became quite the warrior. Hmm," After a few more seconds of silence, he finally continued, "Very well. You've impressed me enough. From this day, Tabitha, you are known as a member of the Boggan clan."

Tabitha smiled widely—something she rarely did—as a few Boggans clapped. Toxicad, however, was glaring at her. "Aw, don't be such a sore loser, Toxicad," Dagda grinned, clapping the Boggan on the shoulder. "Just think, she might be a great warrior someday."

"I don't care!" He snapped childishly. "Besides, she shouldn't be a warrior. She's a female! And not a Boggan! She shouldn't be allowed to join the Boggans!"

"_That_ isn't for you to decide, Toxicad," Mandrake scowled darkly, making him flinch slightly. "It's for me, and my decision has been made."

Toxicad opened his mouth to say something else, but the glare from the Boggan Leader, and his fist tightening around his staff, silenced him. Tabitha allowed an amused smirk to replace her smile. It seemed the rumors about him being so feared by even his own Boggans, he could silence them with a glare, were true. She just hoped she would never be on the receiving end of that glare. It was frightening, even to her, and she wasn't even the one it was directed at.

"All right, everyone back to work." Mandrake said, as though the small argument never happened. "I know you'd like to get to know the new recruit, but not at the moment." He clapped a hand on Tabitha's shoulder. "Come, me and Dagda will show you around."

"Wrathwood's not as big as Moonhaven, or as nice," Dagda said on the other side of the Amphibiques. "But, it's home."

Tabitha knew Moonhaven was home of the Leafmen, but didn't know how big it was. She didn't care either way, and she said so. "It's not my home; Wrathwood is. So, when does training start for me? I really wanna learn to use a bow and arrow."

Mandrake chuckled. "I think I'm going to like you, Tabitha."

* * *

**A/N I can't really remember where I got the name Toxicad (I think it was the Latin term for some plant) He's one of the shark-like Boggans, and is a big, hulking one too. And he hates Tabitha now :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N****I do not own the movie, Epic; it is owned by Blue Sky Studios. I DO own my OC, Tabitha, and her species, as well as a couple of other characters that will pop up.**

**tlc234stars: That's fine :) Glad you like Tabitha and the story.**

**Lady Larka: The first time I ever saw the Boggans (in theaters) my mind immediately went to Shark Tale sharks! And you and I probably aren't the only ones who made that connection.**

* * *

The rest of the day consisted of Mandrake and Dagda giving Tabitha the grand tour of Wrathwood, and explaining how training would work. It was night by the time everything was done, and it had been late afternoon when Tabitha arrived. So, since it was late, Mandrake told her to go to sleep, and that she would start training in the morning. She grudgingly agreed, to which he laughed at, and commented about her being eager to start training.

The beds were made of feather down from birds, and fresh moss, which was very comfortable. Mandrake told Tabitha it was everyone's responsibility to harvest fresh moss for their beds.

Tabitha fell right asleep as soon as she lay on her bed, and pulled her blanket of animal pelt over her legs. Since she was still wearing her chipmunk coat, there was no need to fully-use her blanket. The next morning, she was jolted from her sleep by water being poured on her head. Coughing and sputtering, she abruptly sat up to see Toxicad leering at her, with two other Boggans behind them. The former was holding a damp, hollowed-out acorn shell. "Morning, Amphy." He said, laughing with the other Boggans.

She only scowled, stood up from her bed, and pushed past the Boggans, wiping her wet bangs from her face. As she squeezed out her ponytail, she caught sight of Dagda. She walked up to him, still squeezing out her hair. "Morning." She greeted half-heartedly.

When he turned to look at Tabitha, his eyebrows shot up. "What happened to you?" He asked.

"Toxicad and his cronies decided to give me the wet Boggan welcome." She explained.

"Ah. There's a good place to dry off your hair. It's on a ledge in the tree, where it catches most of the wind. C'mon, I'll show you."

As she followed Dagda to said ledge, she asked, "Won't Mandrake be cross that you aren't at training yet?"

"Nah, not as long as I actually do it soon. I'm actually the general, so I can do my own training, as well as oversee the warriors' training." He said proudly. "Someday, I'll even be leader of the Boggans!"

"Sounds fascinating." Tabitha said. "Your dad must be proud."

"I guess so. Anyway, here we are." They stopped at a big hole in the trunk of the tree, leading to a large branch sticking out from the tree. "Like I said, this is the best place to catch some wind."

"Thanks, Dagda." Tabitha nodded as he walked away. She stepped out onto the branch. There was indeed a breeze. Not strong enough to knock her off of the branch, but strong enough to blow her hair. She pulled the vine holding her hair up, letting her hair fall loose and into the wind as she turned, facing the wind. Keeping one hand on the tree trunk, in case she was to fall, she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, and sighing. She still wasn't used to the smell of Wrathwood, but she knew she would get used to it eventually.

After several minutes, when Tabitha felt her hair, it was dry. She stepped back inside, and began putting it back in its ponytail. As she was finishing, Mandrake came up. "There you are," He said. "What are you doing here?"

"Drying my hair."

"Why?"

"Toxicad decided it was funny to wake me up by splashing me with water. No biggie."

He rolled his eyes, but said nothing else. "Are you ready for your first day of training?"

"I'm ready and rolling!" She said proudly, running on all fours in the direction of the training room before Mandrake could say anything else.

Upon entering the training room, her eyes immediately focused on a lone bow and arrow set. The arrows were simple twigs, so the trainees wouldn't injure themselves with the real rot arrows Boggan warriors used. Tabitha grabbed them and trotted to the practice area for archery.

She had seen Boggan trainees use the bow and arrows, so she vaguely knew how to hold them. She was ambidextrous—meaning she could do things with both hands, as opposed to left-handed or right-handed people—so she felt it didn't matter how she held the bow. She placed the arrow on the string, and laid the other end on her right hand, which was holding the bow. She stretched her left arm back, and took aim at the target, closing one eye.

"Freeze!" A voice snapped, startling her. Relaxing her arms and looking over her shoulder, she saw Mandrake approaching her with a slight frown. "You've obviously never held a bow and arrow properly before. First, you don't grip your bow in the exact middle." He stood behind her, and took hold of her right wrist. "You grip it a hand's width lower." Holding the bow, he moved her wrist so her fist was lower on the bow. "Extend your index finger, so the arrow can rest easier on it."

She did as he said, and extended her index finger. "It's also easier to aim when you extend your index finger." He continued. "Don't hold the end of the arrow that is on the string. Instead, position your index finger above the arrow, and your middle finger below, and have both fingers hooked around the string. Straighten your bow arm all the way, and pull your arrow arm back until it is in a comfortable position." As she straightened her right arm, Mandrake took hold of her left forearm with his free hand, and pulled it back. "And you will want to establish a place to hold your hand when pulling back. For example, your thumb could be pulled back next to the corner of your mouth."

Tabitha positioned her arm so the tip of her thumb was ghosting over the corner of her mouth. "Is this good?" She asked, not moving a muscle. She felt Mandrake let go of her arms, and back away.

"Good. Now, aim for the target, and let your arrow fingers relax. When you let go of the string, flick your hand back. Do not relax your bow arm."

Licking her lips, Tabitha aimed the tip of the arrow at the target. She let her left-hand fingers relax, and flicked her wrist back.

The arrow flew through the air with a sharp whistle, and embedded itself into the target made of animal hide, stretched over and attached to a hoop of wood, that was hanging from the wall. The arrow sunk in lower than how she would have liked, but she had just fired her first arrow, and felt very proud.

"You'll have to remember your position, as when you are out in battle, your enemies won't give you time to precisely position yourself as you did just now." Mandrake said. "You'll have to position yourself on the fly from memory."

Tabitha nodded. As Mandrake left, glancing at other trainees along the way, she went back to shooting more arrows, pausing to collect them from the target every now and then. She kept Mandrake's tips in mind, and slowly got better at the archery.

Another Boggan had been watching her for a while. This one was a warrior; a wasp, wearing a hummingbird skull with a broken beak. After a while, he spoke up, "You might not want to close one eye when you aim."

"How else will I aim correctly?" Tabitha challenged. "I get double-vision with either the arrow, or the target, so I don't know where I'm aiming."

"There's a trick I used when I was practicing archery. Focus on the target. There's double-vision with the arrow, two arrows, right? Try aiming the right arrow in the middle."

Tabitha drew back, and focused on the target. As the wasp said, there were two arrows. She aimed the right "arrow" in the middle, and let the string go. The arrow was too far to the left. "This time, aim the left arrow in the middle, and see what happens." The wasp continued.

Tabitha drew another arrow, and focused on the target again. This time, she aimed the left "arrow" in the middle. Zip! The arrow flew, and buried its head in the center of the target.

"Boom! Whatta ya think?" The wasp smirked, crossing both pairs of arms.

"Not bad." Tabitha nodded. "Very useful. I'll have to remember that." She turned around and held out a hand. "I'm Tabitha, by the way."

"Name's Sting." The wasp answered, shaking her hand. "You're not bad at archery, for a first timer. But I guess that's because you got tips from Mandrake himself."

"Why was that? I mean, I'm grateful, but I figured he'd leave me to learn on my own."

"I think that because you aren't a either a true Boggan—like Mandrake and Dagda—or a bug—like myself—and he let you join anyway, he wants to be sure his decision isn't wasted."

"That makes sense." She nodded.

"At any rate, if you need any more tips, just holler."

"Thanks again, Sting." Tabitha went back to her archery. She didn't get perfect bull's-eyes, but her aiming was a lot better.

Later, she decided to put the bow and arrows down for physical training. She knew how to defend herself, so she figured she didn't have much to learn. All she needed was a sparing partner.

"Hey," A big Boggan greeted her. He wasn't as big as Toxicad, and he looked friendlier, for a Boggan. He wore the usual Boggan armor, as well as a piece of bark on his head. "Need a sparing partner?"

"Sure do." Tabitha nodded. "I'm Tabitha."

"I know. I saw you yesterday. I'm Barlow." He held up his hands, and told her to punch them.

She balled up her fists, and punched his left hand as hard as she could. "C'mon, Tabitha, I barely felt that." Barlow grinned.

She punched him again, trying to do it harder. "You punch like a girl!"

Gritting her teeth, she threw her weight into her third punch, nearly sending her toppling to the ground. "All right, listen. First, widen your feet and lift your back heel up." Barlow advised. "Keep your knees bent, so you can better throw your weight into the punch. But don't fall." He winked, making her roll her eyes.

"I didn't do it on purpose." She grumbled. As he gave her tips on throwing a punch better, she followed his advice, and continued to punch his hands. Eventually, they moved onto a stuffed dummy, which comically looked like a Leafmen. Remembering Barlow's tips, Tabitha let everything she had at the dummy, punching as hard as she could. "Good ways to build up your arms is pushups, and either weight-lifting, or chin-ups." Barlow continued. "Plus, it'll give you great muscles."

"Thanks," Tabitha nodded. "I really appreciate it."

* * *

**A/N Ugh, this chapter feels horrible! I've been having TERRIBLE writer's block! But I managed to get this done, as bad as it is.**

**I am not an expert on archery or throwing punches. Most of the info I got online, and some was from common sense.**

**Those two Boggans-Sting and Barlow-are ones I made myself. As stated, Sting is just a regular ol' wasp. I figured since there was a mosquito, there had to be other bugs as well. He's voiced by Wallace Shawn, who has a quite distinctive voice.**

**The other Boggan is just a standard Boggan. On that note, I feel that there are two categories of Boggans: one, pure-blood Boggans, such as Mandrake and Dagda, and the shark-Boggans, and two, bugs that have joined the Boggans. Back to the character, Barlow is again, a standard Boggan. He's voiced by one of my favorite actors, Wayne Knight.**

**This chapter was horrible! But I blame writer's block :3 Hopefully, chapters will get better.**


End file.
